Gentle fall showers have sprung to life one of Charleston most distinctive perennials, the Lycoris 
Radiata, better knon as the Hurricane or Red Spider Lilly. The member of the Amaryllis family grows to about 18 inches in height, with bright red flowers and curved reddish stalks that resemble the legs of a spider.
Like so many Charleston flowers, it is a native of Asia, intoruduced by colonial botanists who found that our temperatae subtropical climate was ideal for exotic plants and trees. The bulb of the Lycoris Radiate lies dormant until late September, when it sprouts majestically in places such as historic St. Michael's churchyard, addding a delicate border to weathered gravestones that date to the 18th century.
The color of the flowering extremities lasts only a matter of days before it turns to a leafy green, and the bright red color was considered by some to be a signal of stormy hurricane weather. Fortunately, the continental high pressure systems of 2010 have made hurrican season virtually non-existent, as it has been for several decades, and the warning reds will fade into a soothing green along with milder fall temperatures that typify the delightful October season in Charleston
